The never ending cycle of revenge
by uniabocetaP
Summary: Ellaria Sand observes her children on their play under the shadow of a blood-orange tree. Soon she finds herself think of the past, lost lover, and revenge. One-Shot


_Italics are for thoughts._

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_He was dead. Dead. Oberyn was dead. Prince Oberyn Nymeros Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne, my Viper was defeated. He was defeated, murdered, by a Mountain, exactly on the of his greatest triumph. And now he has left me alone. Alone._

Ellaria was seated on one of the balconies of the Water Gardens, under an orange tree. This particular tree was Prince Doran's favorite spot. He could sit under its shadow for hours contemplating his past, working, observing the children's play on the pools, just like her now. The last time she glimpsed him here, he was sharing the tree's blood oranges with his beloved younger brother, Oberyn.

_Oberyn. _Whenever she thought her lover, her heart hurt so much that she wondered how it was possible to be still alive. She used to love him so much. She still loved him so much. They had first met fifteen years ago, in her home town, Hellhort. Ellaria was the lord's baseborn daughter. She was never really welcomed in his halls. That didn't mean that her father, Lord Harmen Uller, didn't love her. He always provided for her; his brother,her dear uncle, Ser Ulwyk, would pick her up and throw her in the air when she was little. His lady wife was the reason that she felt unwelcome. She could imagine why; it was not that hard. Her mother was a beautiful and sexy woman, a woman with fire in her, unlike her. The Castle's Lady was cold and boring, and not even her lineage was as high as she liked to claim. However, her mother died when Ellaria was five and she was left in the sole care of her father and his wife.

Life could be cruel there. As she grew up she would attract unwanted attention from men. They tended to take liberties with her because she was worshiping the same Lyseni Love Goddess like her late mother. They thought that she was a slut, a whore, and would always try to find a way to abuse her. Everything changed when she met Oberyn.

It was a very hot night, she remembered. Sweat made her linen dress clung to her curved body in the most inappropriate way. She was aware of that, but Uller before she could change and join the feast she had to finish a few tasks laid to her by lady. Ellaria was crossing the garden just outside the hall where the festivities took place; she could hear the bard playing the harp, people laughing and drinking merrily. The bard began singing one of her favorite tunes and she immediately started humming to it with her eyes closed. She put her left hand on the wall and her fingers brushed it lightly as she used it as her guide to cross the yard.

That was her greatest mistake. She gasped when she felt a strong arm grabbing her by the waist. Ellaria opened her eyes the moment the man positioned her between him and the wall. He was drunk; she could smell the wine in his breath. He was so close to her that she could see knots of sweat on his hideous face, and worst of all; she could feel his erection against her.

"Come on, little bitch" he said in a low voice that was supposed to be seductive "raise your skirt for me. I know that you love to be fucked".

"I like being fucked, not raped" she said fiercely while trying to break free. That was a mistake however; he slapped her so hard that she would have fallen on the ground if he wasn't pressing her firmly against the wall. Blood licked from her upper lip.

"Don't play smart with me, bastard! Fight back and you will regret it!" the drunk man placed Ellaria's hands above her head with one hand. With the other one he started undoing his breaches, while he pushed his leg between her thighs. "Now, raise your dress!"

"No!" protested Ellaria, trying to sound fiercer and braver than she really felt. On the contrary, she was terrified; her heart was racing in her chest. _I cannot fight this man. I am doomed. But I will not give him the pleasure of screaming or begging. _

Suddenly she was free of his grasp. The drunken man was detached from her so violently that she lost her balance and fell on the ground. Ellaria raised her eyes and saw a tall man with harsh eyes and a widow's peak holding her assaulter from the neck.

"The lady said no. Are you deaf?" he said in a threatening voice that made the hair on the back of her neck to rise.

"She said that she likes being fucked!" protested the drunken man "And she is no lady, only a bastard". He spat on the ground and her rescuer threw him on the ground. Moving very fast, like a viper, he put a knife to his throat and placed his boot from fine leather on his chest. Ellaria was surprised when his next words were directed to her.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but I heard you saying that you _like being fucked, not raped_. I am right?"

"Yes" she said in a trembling voice. The drunkard tried to protest. However, she never learned what he meant to tell; her rescuer pressed his knife to his neck. Blood appeared where the steal touched his skin.

"Do I need to explain to you the difference between rape and fuck?" the drunken man shook negatively his head. "Good. Do I need to explain to you my brother's laws concerning rappers? Prince Doran isn't very lenient when rape is involved. Nor am I".

"No…my lord" he whispered frightened. Ellaria observed with equal parts of delight and disgust that he had soiled his breaches.

"Good, now go. Leave the castle and never come back. If I learn that you tried to assault this woman again, I will find you, cut your cock and stuff it into your mouth before I fuck you with my lance" he let him go and the drunken man hurried to obey. He stumbled on his feet a couple of times on his way towards the main gate. The Red Viper followed him with his eyes. Only after he had disappeared in the shadows, he turned to face her. He helped her gently stand on her feet.

"Are you all right?" he asked with concern. He whipped with care the blood from her lip and examined it.

"Yes" she seemed in a loss of words. She felt her heart race once more, but this time she was certain that it was not because of fear.

"Good. Your lip will be swollen for a couple of days. You should wash it with a bit of wine". He looked her in the eyes intensely. Ellaria shuddered; his eyes where full of passion. "I am Prince Oberyn Martell" he introduced himself after some time that seemed endless to her.

"I know" _What is wrong with me? I know? _Of course she knew. She had not recognized the man at first in her distress, but she had caught a quick glimpse of him the earlier in the morning when he had arrived at Hellhort. The Red Viper, as he was widely known, had come on his brother behalf to contact business with her father. Later the same day, she had mingled herself with the servants on the midday meal, in order to take a proper look on the most notorious Dornishman. Her father had frowned when he saw her, but said nothing. He had found him very attractive, cocky and dangerous. A combination that seemed to rob her from her quick wit for which the Castle's Lady had chastised her so often in the past.

A smirk appeared on his face. He raised his eyebrow to her response, and she feared that she had offended him. But she was proven wrong. "Well, then, let's go inside" he offered his hand to her. He wanted to escort her inside like she was some highborn lady.

"I… shouldn't…" he frowned to her words. _Why on earth I stammer? Now he will think that I am frightened of him. _And she should. He wasn't called the Red Viper for no reason. The men said that he fought like a madman, and no man survived when faced his skill and poisoned blade. However, he was loved by the Dornishmen.

"There is nothing to be afraid. I will not harm you. I hate rapists." he informed her in a furious tone. Yet, somehow, she was certain that his anger was not directed towards her. "Are you afraid?"

"I am not" Ellaria rushed to explain her reasons to him. "I am Ellaria Sand, a bastard, my lord".

"I know who you are. You are Lord Uller's baseborn daughter" his anger seemed to flatter a little bit as he looked at her. "I never supposed that your name was afraid".

"I didn't mean that, my lord" she flushed when she took notice of his mocking smile on his face. "I meant that there is no need to treat me as a highborn lady. The… man was right about that, I am a bastard".

"Ah, well, I like bastards. I have four of myself. They are all girls, maybe there are more out there I don't know about" he took her hand and tucked it under his own. "I don't think that because you are baseborn I have to treat you less respectfully. Every woman deserves to be a queen. Like Nymeria". Oberyn guided her indoors. "Every woman should be a warrior queen to defend themselves from the perils of this world. I cannot always be there and protect my queens; I have failed once to keep my promise, but not again" he finished his thoughts in a whisper directed more to him than to her ears.

Oberyn kept his promise. The following day he demonstrated to her how to hide and use a small dagger, in case she needed to defend herself. However, she never used it; Ellaria was safe for the next fourteen years. No one in Dorne dared to threaten the Viper's paramour and mother of his four youngest Sand Snakes, whilst he was alive. He gave weapons to all his daughters, too. He instructed them himself on how to use them. Back then, she hadn't understood immediately why he was so obsessed with their safety. Shortly afterwards she connected the dots.

When Oberyn was young, around the age of six, he made a promise to always protect his sister, _Elia_. He always loved too much his older, fragile, sweet sister. Ellaria never knew her in person, of course, but Oberyn would talk about her often. He would always start with sweet and funny memories of their misfits in the Water Gardens. Almost always he would end remembering her death. Hers and her children's brutal death he never forgave and he never forgot. His failure to protect Princess Elia hounded him for the rest of his life.

A sudden loud splash from the pools below her balcony brought Ellaria's thoughts back to the living. She looked towards the source of the noise with fear; fear that one of her daughters was hurt. After Oberyn's death, she had grown paranoid about their safety. She relaxed when Loreza got out of the pool laughing and dripping water. Her wild daughter began chasing her companions. She managed to tackle the boywho had pushed her into the pool. Loud cheers followed her success. At six she was very deft and strong. Ellaria smiled; she reminded her of her father, Oberyn would be very proud if he had witnessed her.

_Oberyn… Why did you have to go so soon? I miss you so much… Even your daughters, all eight together, cannot make up for you… and they all look some much like you…_

In fact, the Sand Snakes looked way too much like their father. All of them had inherited the Viper's temper, even sweet Tyene. The result was that they all craved for the same thing that the hot tempered Prince wanted for his sister: revenge. She was thankful when she heard that Prince Doran had imprisoned Obara, Nymeria and Tyene, or else they would certainly have started a war against the throne on his name. She wouldn't bare to lose any of them, she would die if she had to see the massacred bodies of Obara, Tyene, Lady Nym, Arianne, Daemon Sand, her Elia's who all called Lady Lance… she hoped with all her heart that her daughters would never want to join this endless circle, but deep inside she knew that her hopes where futile. Her little Sand Snakes looked after their father, they would try and seek revenge.

_Revenge…such a cruel and bitter word, but it is on the lips of everybody those days. Everyone seeks its grace, everyone wants revenge. But what do I want? If I were able to exact revenge, if I was a fierce warrior like Lady Nym or a political asset like Princess Arianne, would I seek revenge? Would I be thirsty for blood? Yes, I am thirsty for blood, not for theirs, for his. I would kill Oberyn myself if he was here now. I would hit him hard on the chest… why had you to be so cocky? And then I would kiss him passionately, and take him to my bed and keep him safe into my hug forever, away from revenges' cold grasp. If I could I would put an end to all of it._

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_Please review, and thank you for reading it!_


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